Central Limit Theorem
by zestychicken2
Summary: "It says right here, Aunt Cass! If there's a big enough sample, it'll be distributed normally. We don't have a lot of numbers, but if we try hard enough, we can give Hiro a big enough sample of happiness to be normal!" Aunt Cass blinked at him, "You have a bigger heart than brain, Tadashi Hamada." Hiro was Tadashi's to protect, but every once in a while it was the other way around.
1. Chapter 1

**Central Limit Theorem  
>"It says right here, Aunt Cass! If there's a big enough sample, it'll be distributed normally. We don't have a lot of numbers, but if we try hard enough, we can give Hiro a big enough sample of happiness to be normal!" Aunt Cass blinked at him, "You have a bigger heart than brain, Tadashi Hamada." Hiro was Tadashi's to protect, but every once in a while it was the other way around.<br>**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero 6 or any of its characters.**

**A/N: This is my first Big Hero 6 fanfic! I haven't decided yet if it's going to be a bunch of random little drabbles that make kind of a story, or if I want there to be consistent chapters about the brothers growing up, and any problem that I think to arise!**

**You guys should let me know what you think!**

**1.**

"Isn't that kind of a funny name?" he stared up at the two adults, his deep chocolate eyes wide and suspicious.

"You're hardly in the position to make decisions, don't you think Little Man?" she laughed, reaching down to ruffle his hair.

He shook from her grasp, harrumphing and crossing his arms, lip jutted out in a pout. "Why not? It's not like it's that big of a deal, and you and dad made a funny choice."

"I think Hiro is lovely," Aunt Cass cooed, and Tadashi's jaw dropped.

"You're sticking up for _them_?!"

"Hush, Tadashi," his father chuckled, peering over the bundle in his arms. "Don't you want to meet your little brother?"

The eight-year-old stared up at him like he was clearly delusional.

Cass gripped her sister-in-law's arm as she leaned in. "Your genius son is a little socially awkward, don't you think?"

The woman laughed, turning towards the woman. "We're hoping it's something he grows out of," she winked.

Tadashi wasn't socially awkward. In truth, it was an honest amount of child-jealousy shining through. The Hamadas' eight-year-old son had gotten used to the idea of being an only child. With the workings of genius already showing in his personality, he loved the thought of his parents showering him in praise, his father bringing him to work like he'd done in the past to the lab, and them watching Tadashi surpass him in scientific skill.

Life was good.

And then there came Hiro.

He didn't really understand when his mother and father had sat him down and told him he was going to be a big brother. And he still didn't understand as his mother's stomach expanded and she constantly was urging him to speak with his brother, separated still from the real world, in her belly.

"_Did you eat him?"_ Tadashi had asked one day a few months ago. He was eating his cereal for breakfast before school, his father guzzling his hot coffee and his mother making freshly squeezed orange juice.

She let out a small laugh. _"No silly boy, I'm helping him grow."_

He stuck his nose up at the idea, but his curiosity got the best of him. _"Like dad builds robots?"_

Both of his parents laughed then, _"Something like that_," she told him.

But now that his brother was here, in the flesh, Tadashi just didn't know how to feel about it. He was so interested in the capacities of his own mind – why would he be interested in someone else's.

"Here, let me, Sam," Cass mumbled to her brother. He passed the infant over to his brunette sibling, doubt in his eyes.

"Cass, if we couldn't –"

"Tadashi!" she almost sang, and he flinched away from her suddenly loud voice. Before he could move too far though, she dropped to her knees, ignoring the way the boys' parents jerked instinctively forward, arms outstretched. "Come look at baby Hiro for your Auntie Cass!"

He rolled his eyes, trying to act more major than he was. "You're being silly, Aunt Cass!"

She held the baby outstretched, her eyes shining like they only did when she was trying out new flavors of donuts for her budding shop. "_Please!_"

He huffed again and shuffled a little closer, examining over the blanket wearily. She nodded her head in encouragement – the two other adults staring in shock.

That's when everything changed.

As soon as Tadashi got close enough, his dark hazelnut eyes peeking over the soft edge of fabric that coddled Hiro's face, he blinked in surprise, clearly taken aback. There was no small monster that was going to steal away his spotlight, or make his life hard. There was no foreign features or concepts to this tiny human in his aunt's arms.

Hiro had awoken after Cass' loud voice had chimed through the air, nut he didn't cry. His eyes matched his older brother's, and as though with recognition, Hiro blinked up at Tadashi in wonder.

The older of the two Hamada boys glanced at his parents with uncertainty, but they could only nod at him, slack jawed and shocked, despite their intelligence.

"C-can I hold him?" he whispered.

The brunette giggled, "Watch his head, kiddo," she murmured softly as she passed on the infant to his older brother.

Tadashi made sure to be gentle, staring down at the littler version of himself.

That's when everything changed.

"You're not so scary," he whispered, just to his brother. "You're like me."

A smile broke out on his lips. "And I'm going to take care of you, just like Mom and Dad said a good older brother does…"

* * *

><p>"What are you drawing, Hiro?" he smiled, collapsing next to his little brother.<p>

His schoolbag and shoes had been abandoned as soon as he walked in the door, in favor of sitting with the toddler to play.

"My superhero!" he beamed, showing off the small gap between his two front teeth – a couple of his only teeth.

"Oh yeah?" Tadashi tried to confirm, grabbing his own piece of paper and some markers, flopping down on the floor next to his brother. "What does he do?"

"Flies!" the boy yelled.

"Flies!" Tadashi rolled over on his back, marker still gripped in his hand. "How does he do that?"

"Wings! H-he retracts them in his armor and flies when he needs to go fast!"

"Are the streets too slow for him?" he humored his brother as he nodded ecstatically.

"Way too slow!"

"What else does he do? Does he save people? What other superpowers does he have?!"

"He's nice," Hiro decided, sitting on his knees. "He helps people, like you…" he trailed off, suddenly very shy.

Tadashi chuckled, gently taking the paper from his brother, uncrinkling the corner. "Boymaz?"

"Baymax!" he corrected, still timid.

"Your handwriting is awful," Tadashi teased.

"Nu-uh!" he argued, shaking his head and crawling on top of his brother.

He started tickling Tadashi, earning a fun ride as the eleven-year-old curled this way and that underneath his little brother, trying to stop the tickling without pushing Hiro away. They stayed like this for several minutes, both of them unable to stop their laughter.

"Tadashi! Bring Hiro – it's time to eat!" his mother called.

The boy rolled into a sitting position and swooped his brother up in his arms as they raced to the kitchen, the superhero drawing covered with various other play and drawing things already forgotten.

* * *

><p>"Here you go, kiddo," Aunt Cass mumbled, handing him his favorite mug. There was a purple cat on the mug, complete with ears – a Christmas present from one of his friends at school. "Hot chocolate just like you like!"<p>

But he didn't take the cup.

She glanced down curiously at the paper strewn out everywhere. Science terms and numbers were scattered on every sheet she laid her eyes on, before her almond eyes landed on her nephew.

"Tadashi…" she said carefully, hoping to get his attention. "Tadashi! Yoo-hoo, Aunt Cass here, reporting for duty!"

He looked up at her, his eyes tired. "Is Hiro sleeping?"

She jerked her thumb to the hallway, "Just got him down, took forever though…"

"I've done it, Aunt Cass."

"What do you mean?" She sat down next to him on the floor, abandoning the two cups of hot cocoa on the coffee table. Crossing her legs underneath her, she leaned close to the scribbles.

"It's the central limit theorem! It says right here, Aunt Cass! If there's a big enough sample, it'll be distributed normally. We don't have a lot of numbers, but if we try hard enough, we can give Hiro a big enough sample of happiness to be normal!"

"Honey, what are you saying?"

"Aren't you following?" the eleven-year-old asked, exasperated. "This proves that we can still make Hiro happy." He sighed, "Look, I know the last couple of weeks have been bad –"

"You have a bigger heart than brain, Tadashi Hamada. I don't think that's how it works -"

"- and he hasn't been himself at all…" he ignored her as his eyes fell to the floor, sweeping over his notes. "But this proves that he can still be happy," then he looked up at his guardian, "that all of this hurt will go away for him."

She recognized what he was doing. She remembered when she was little and her cat died – this was exactly how her brother helped her… Though he was hurting because he loved that cat too, he channeled his hurt into making _her_ feel better.

"Is that what all of this is about?" she asked gently, gesturing to his paper mess on the floor. She leaned close to him, taking his hand. "Tadashi, it's okay to be sad…"

"But –"

"It's okay," she pulled him close. "Everything will be okay for you, and everything will be okay for Hiro." Aunt Cass pressed her cheek against his neatly combed hair. "Want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because he has you."

"And he always will," he told her, hugging her close and clinging to her shirt, letting himself show this vulnerability just once before he would be rise to be strong, all for Hiro."

* * *

><p>AN:** So I'm not sure how that one went! I hope you all liked it though! Like I said, I'm debating if I want to make a full-blown plot for this story, or if I want to do little drabbles – what do you guys think?**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-zesty-**


	2. Chapter 2

**Central Limit Theorem**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero Six or any of its characters.**

**2.**

He was ecstatic.

Never had he been bestowed such an honor, and he'd never been prouder of his accomplishments thus far in his short life.

A thirteen-year-old Tadashi threw open the door to the café, his entire being beaming.

"Tadashi!" Aunt Cass cried, snapping up from pouring a customer a fifth-maybe-sixth cup of coffee. "What have I told you about slamming the door?"

"Aunt Cass!" he hollered, bounding towards her.

She set her coffee pot on the counter to lecture him, but he flung himself into her arms. She blinked, clearly taken aback. No one had ever jumped to her quite like she had before.

"Whoa! Holy cats, Tadashi, what's wrong with you?" she placed him firmly back on the floor, but he hardly stayed still long enough for her to stare at him. Wiggling from her grasp, he ran circles around her in excitement.

"Something great happened today!"

She had to admit, the last two years had been tough. _Maybe_ she should have called up Karen – the only cousin who hadn't awkwardly slipped out of her life when she decided on a whim with her brother to move to San Fransokyo _a long_ time ago. Karen had children – seven of them to be exact! She could have asked her what to do. Or maybe there was a parenting book that had a small section about raising a genius – or maybe two – and it might have helped her with the hardships of loss and –

She sucked in a deep breath as she watched Tadashi bounce around, still too hyper to tell her what had happened.

Cass wouldn't have wanted that for either of the two boys. She loved them like she was their own mother – but knew she never would be. The brunette couldn't live with trying to take her brother and sister-in-law's place, nor did she want to. But these were her _boys_, and they were special, and no parenting book or long-distant cousin could help her with the reality of the situation.

"Kiddo, just tell me what happened!" she finally laughed, the feeling bubbling up in her – intoxicated by Tadashi himself.

He retrieved the poorly folded piece of paper from his pocket, holding it out to her like it was a piece of gold. She plucked it from his grasp, feigning excitement in place of her confusion. The woman opened it up, her eyes skimming briefly over the first paragraph.

"What is this?" she asked, hoping to confirm what she read.

Tadashi did a small jig, staring up at her with so much more knowledge in his young eyes than she would ever know. "They've invited me to join the eighth year tutoring program. I'll have to take a placement exam to make sure I know all of the material, but my teacher said I'd have no problem."

"You're only in your seventh year though, Tadashi," her brow creased in confusion. "That program is reserved for –"

"I know!" he yelped at her, taking the paper back and gripping it tightly as he stared up at the woman. "They tutor fifth through eighth year, so they want the oldest kids to be in the program – but they said I understand what's happening more than _any_ of the eighth year students."

She nearly bit through her tongue she was so excited. "This is so – _wow_! I can't even believe it! I'm so proud of you, my big brained boy! Come here! Hugs!" she latched onto him, squeezing her eyes shut. "This calls for celebration!" she cheered, "Dessert! A lot of dessert! Go tell your brother, Tadashi! He'll be so happy for you!"

She flitted off before he could answer, but that didn't deter him. He pranced up the stairs into their home. "Hiro!" he called, hoping to find the five-year-old somewhere close.

He sat in the living room with books spread about him. Books no kindergartener should have the capacity to read. Tadashi didn't notice in all of his excitement.

"Hiro! I got into the tutoring program I told you about!" he nearly screamed.

His brother looked up, startled. "Really?!" Hiro laughed delightedly.

"That's going to look great when I'm looking at high school classes! I can skip a whole bunch of pre-recs and –" he stopped short, his eyes shimmering even more. "I can help you too, whatever you need!"

Tadashi made it his goal then to land next to his brother, planting his body firmly next to the five year old. "What are you doing in school? What can I help you with? What…" he trailed, glancing down at the books on the floor.

"I took them from your room," Hiro explained sheepishly. "I wanted to know what you knew!"

"Unbelievable…" Tadashi mumbled, his excitement fleeting and his astonishment rising. He thought what he'd done was such an achievement… but this…

Out in front of his little brother were the chemistry, physics, and biology books Aunt Cass had picked up for him a few weeks ago. She had said that if he wanted to use his big brain to do good, he needed to keep up his game.

"You… understand this?"

Hiro nodded. "I'm not as good as you, Tadashi, but I'm tryin'!"

Tadashi leaned close, his hair falling in front of his eyes. The page Hiro was looking at was about quantum physics – a subject that Tadashi had just touched on himself and had to shut the book and take a break.

"Unbelievable…" he mumbled again, realizing his tutoring skills would be of no need in this household.

* * *

><p>"Don't be such a grump, grumpy!" Cass laughed, handing him a cheap bag of popcorn. She had already inhaled half of hers without even realizing it.<p>

"Why doesn't he want to play with _me_?!"

"He's a bit busy right now, don't you think, Kiddo?"

Hiro pointed towards the field, clearly upset. "He won't play with me at home!"

The woman nearly rolled her eyes and faced her nephew. He might already know more than she had ever learned, but his maturity certainly wasn't up to par with her, and sometimes, in her hyper-active, still-a-kid-at-heart mind, she liked to show off a little bit. "You may have a bigger brain than Tadashi, but he's got more than a foot on you, and at _least_ seventy pounds. No way is he going to play football with you at home!"

The boy harrumphed, mumbling something about how being six really shouldn't matter.

This time she did roll her eyes.

One thing that she was sure Tadashi would always have over the younger Hamada brother was coordination and maybe agility and perhaps even strength. While she was sure that would come to Hiro with age, the kid was a complete klutz – not someone built for athletics… at all.

"_Twenty-two, Hamada, cuts around eight, slides around three – passes to seventeen, Seaver! Seaver passes off to one, Yorkshire, who passes back to twenty-two Hamada: they're getting passed their whole defense! Twenty-two Hamada goes in for the goal – _and he's done it!_ Tadashi Hamada, ladies and gentleman! That's his fourth goal in the game! He is on fire today!_"

Aunt Cass was up in a second, throwing her popcorn all over everything. Hiro scrunched up his face and flicked a piece off of his shoulder.

Football bored him.

"Psh, if you ask me, the ball hog Hamada kid should let someone else get the ball for once."

"Usagi, that's enough! Don't be rude!" his mother hissed at him, but Hiro's sharp ears had already picked up on the insult.

"Aoi could be getting _all_ the goals if the other striker would just _lay off_. Doesn't he have enough goals this game?"

"Usagi!"

Hiro visibly bristled, his limbs going rigid as his eyes narrowed. Though smaller – never able to physically compete with anyone and especially not his brother – he had the mentality to pick up on insults and emotional triggers for himself and for others. Maybe he would always be a runt, and maybe he was only six years old, still had an impressive protective instinct.

He stood on the bleachers, wobbly if not nearly tripping over the people still standing on the benches. It wasn't a far walk to the blabber mouth who was talking about Hiro's brother.

When the boy called Usagi's eyes landed on him, Hiro pointed to the field. "What number is your brother?"

The boy – only a few years older than Hiro himself – scoffed and crossed his arms. "Twelve."

The black haired boy continued pointing at the field. "Tadashi – my _brother_ –" the boy's mother flinched at the confrontation in front of her, "- has been passing the ball to the others the entire game. There's six minutes left, and it's been a hard team to beat. Everyone is tired. But Tadashi, number seventeen and number one are the only ones who can still run around a whole bunch. If number _twelve_ could get into his position, there would be lots of opportunities to pass to him, like Tadashi has been doing to his other teammates the entire night. If you don't remember, I can tell you that everyone else playing forward has assisted on the goals, but they pass to Tadashi because he's the only one who's still able to get the ball around those guys. Because it was your brother at the beginning of the game who let the other team get the ball _four times in a row_ in which they scored _four times_ –"

"Okay!" Aunt Cass suddenly picked him up under the armpits, planting him on the other side of her. "Ya take your eyes off of 'em for _one_ second, I tell you! So sorry for the distraction!" She saluted the mother and yanked on Hiro's ear, pulling him back to their spots.

The younger Hamada brother fully expected to be chastised for his actions, but his aunt, in a rare moment, was silent.

"Sorry Aunt Cass," Hiro sighed.

She gave him her profile, raising her eyebrow. "I thought you didn't like soccer. I thought you hated watching Tadashi's games because he never wanted to play with you."

"I did," he hmphed, a sour expression overtaking his face. "I do."

"Yup!" she popped her 'p' with a loud snap and went back to watching the game. But not without one more peek at the young boy, who she noticed for the first time – despite his terribly negative expression, never once took his eyes off of the twenty-two jersey on the field.

That was her proudest Mama Bear moment yet.

* * *

><p>He undoubtedly trusted his brother with his life. There was no question about it.<p>

But on the wretched machine, in front of so many people? His stomach churned with nervousness.

"Are you sure about this?"

"It's about time you learn, Lil' bro! Besides! It's as easy as…" he trailed, trying to think of the proper simile to use.

Hiro puckered his lips as he waited, failing to feel reassured.

"Riding a bike!" Tadashi decided with an ironic smile and a grin in his eyes.

"Ha. Ha." The eight-year-old was _not_ amused.

"You're telling me you can take down any school exam handed to you, but you can't learn how to ride a bike?"

"That's not fair," he pouted.

"It's plenty fair," Tadashi chuckled. "I learned how to ride the moped!"

Hiro rolled his eyes. "That makes _sense_! The way it's balanced on the wheels, and the way the engine levels out the –"

"It really isn't that hard," his older brother told him, dropping a helmet on Hiro's head. "Now just _do it_. Be brave! Just like all of those superheroes you like!"

Color blossomed on Hiro's cheeks. "I do not."

"Okay, sure. Let's go!"

"Stop teasing me!"

"Quit stalling!"

"_Stop trying to be right!"_ They both called to each other, cheeks flustered. Matching sets of brown eyes stared at each other, before they simultaneously snorted in laughter.

"You're such a weirdo," Hiro told him.

"Knucklehead," his big brother rolled his eyes, steadying him on the bike. "Ready?"

Hiro snapped the helmet into place, gulping. _Be brave like Tadashi always is_. "As I'll ever be!"

"Your optimism is striking, Little Brother!"

There was no time for the younger Hamada to reply as Tadashi pushed off, using his strength to get the bike rolling. The spokes made a whooshing noise, and the card attached to it made a clicking noise every time the wheel spun. Tadashi put it on the bike, claiming that when Hiro got so good and never wanted to slow down, he'd still be able to hear where he was and be at ease.

They started slowly, Tadashi being able to keep an easy hand on the bike as they trotted down the sidewalk, but once Hiro found his balance and started to peddle, his older brother was _sprinting _to keep up with the bike.

"You're doing it, Hiro!" he laughed as his hands finally slipped from the back of the seat. "You're doing it!" he could hear his brother return the laugh as he went flying down the street.

"Wait!" he called. "How do you stop this thing?!" he veered around the corner where Tadashi's eyes could no longer meet his little brother and his veins ran cold.

A busy intersection was just around the corner, full of impatient business men and distracted moms that had even almost knocked him off of his moped sometimes! "Hiro!" he called, the scream wrenching itself from his throat. He slid around the corner, his fingertips brushing the sidewalk when he almost fell, the tips of his fingers grazing the concrete. "Hiro!"

As he turned the corner, he saw his worst nightmare. The bike, his brother still on top of it, was rolling off of the sidewalk and into the street, wobbly and slowing down, and having no chance of crossing safely.

"Hiro!" he screamed, his baseball cap flying off as he sprinted down the sidewalk, converse shoes hitting the ground hard and jostling him as he ran.

A car honked swerved, nicking the corner of the bike and hitting the light pole on the sidewalk, effectively blocking the fate of the bicycle and his brother from view.

Panic welled up in his chest.

_No._

_Not Hiro._

_I can't lose him too._

"Tadashi!" his brother called and the raven haired teen spun around the car, his chest heaving rapidly.

Hiro – with his giant brown eyes, hardly even affected, not even realizing the magnitude of the situation – held up a tiny white speck to his brother. "I lost a tooth!" he laughed. "I'm going to be _rich_! That's like, a butt load of money!"

"Hiro!" Tadashi boomed, relieved and angry and happy and stunned all at once. He scooped up his little brother as the driver got out of the car to make sure the boy whose bicycle he hit was okay. "Don't you _ever_ do that to me again!" _I will _not_ come that close to losing you again!_ "You scared me half to death!"

"You're the one who put me on the bike and let me go!" Hiro squirmed, but hugged his brother back all the same. "Aunt Cass is going to be so happy when she sees the tooth!"

Tadashi let out a wave of laughter mixed with a sigh. Tears came to his eyes without him even meaning to. "You are _such_ a bonehead."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: That one was a little longer! I hope you still enjoyed it!**

**For now, I think I'm just going to do some drabbles, and when I run out of ideas, maybe I'll start a small chapter story to go along with the memories!**

**If you guys have any ideas or suggestions though, feel free to throw them in and I'll write them **

**Hope you all liked it! Thank you to everyone who read, I'm so thankful for it! Good to feel the love from fellow Tadashi and Hiro fluff fans! :D**

**-zesty-**


	3. Chapter 3

**Central Limit Theorem**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Big Hero Six or any of its characters.**

**3.**

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

She tilted her head, leaning her cheek into her hand as she puckered her lips.

"I don't think I can help you with this one, Tadashi." A smile spread on her lips then – bemused and not at all apologetic.

Tadashi's shoulders sagged as he glanced down. "Aunt Cass already offered her famous hot wings _and_ extra dessert. What more do you want from me, Hiro?"

Hiro adjusted himself, not liking the way Tadashi was continually wiggling his foot underneath Hiro's light body. He didn't answer – simply clung a little closer to his brother.

"Why do you get to go?" he groaned.

Aunt Cass bit down on her knuckle to stop from laughing. Tadashi tried hard not to roll his eyes.

"Because I'm old enough to go."

"Why can't I go with you?"

"Because you're _not_ old enough to go." Tadashi's eyes flashed to the wall, searching for the cat clock. The cat's eyes were slits, and his paw was up in a wave as his tail swung back and forth with every tick of the clock.

He was going to be late.

Hiro's big brown eyes stared up at him. He knew he was being childish, but Aunt Cass made him promise not to make fun of his older brother for going to the dance with a girl, and this was the only other way to embarrass him. "You mean you would have asked me if I was old enough?" His toothy smile was dazzling.

Tadashi finally caught on, shoving his brother off of his leg. "You bonehead! You've just been distracting me!"

"Are you going to pick her up and bring her back here? I'd love to meet her," he snickered, thinking of all the devilish things he could do to embarrass his brother.

"No!"

"Ah, ah!" Cass laughed, "You already promised me you were going to bring her pack for a few pictures, Tadashi! You aren't going t flake out on me now, are you?" she grinned as though she were in on the joke.

He let out a huge sigh, his big heart getting the better of him. "If you let me go now, I'll bring her back for pictures?"

"Yay!" Aunt Cass squealed, revealing the camera she had tucked behind her back. "But one for the books first! Or maybe a couple!"

"I'm going to be _late_!"

"Hush! You can take a picture with your little brother before we go _melt_ our faces with hot wings!" her and Hiro high-fived.

Tadashi winced, already able to hear their blubbering words because their lips were numb with spice, and faces a blotchy red with heat. But realizing that if he cooperated for just a little longer, he'd be able to leave faster, he swooped Hiro up onto his shoulders.

His nine-year-old brother gave a whoop, fist pumping the air as Cass scrambled for the camera. "Knucklehead," he mumbled with a chuckle.

Hiro only replied by slapping his brother's baseball cap on his head.

"I look ridiculous!" he began fidgeting in his suit.

"It's only Tadashi if you're in your hat!"

He rolled his eyes, and Cass seemed to get the _perfect_ picture to describe their relationship. She wiggled, too excited to stop. "Group picture!" she hollered, nearly tackling the two down and holding out the camera.

All three of them grinned and only two days later was the picture hanging up in her café so she could brag about her family to the costumers who asked.

* * *

><p>She wrapped her long, slim fingers around the mug, bringing the steaming drink to her lips to hide her smile. He was still using the purple cat mug she had bought him for Christmas when they were kids.<p>

Tadashi hardly noticed. He was skimming pages upon pages of notes, his brow puckered in tired stress.

"You really shouldn't worry so much about it, Tadashi. You're going to do fine."

He stared up at her as though realizing she was there for the first time. "I can't afford any mess ups, Honey Lemon."

"Gogo _just_ took her test and said it was a breeze."

"Gogo thinks everything is easy," he pointed out with a raised brow.

She shrugged and wrapped her cardigan tighter around her front. "Her marks don't always show that though, especially with all of the college courses all of us are taking. You're the smartest one out of all of us – you'll do great!"

He finally looked at her when he recognized the tone in her voice. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun, her glasses slipping off of her nose. She didn't bother continuing to hover, but slipped her fingers around the warm mug again, looking around the house.

Aunt Cass always had a knack for nabbing people's attention with the decorations.

"I'm sorry I stress out so much," he finally told her, snapping her eyes back to him.

Emerald eyes searched a sullen face for only a moment before she hummed and took another sip. "We all know why you're so stressed; I know you want to do good by Hiro."

He blushed, "Am I that obvious?"

"Your whole life has been about that," she winked at him, crossing her ankles on the stool. "You do a wonderful job. Hiro couldn't ask for a better big brother."

He sighed, sinking back into his seat and picking up his mug. The way the ears sat on either side of his mouth as he sipped made Honey giggle. His eyes flickered up to meet hers in question, but she waved him off.

There was silence for another moment as he flipped through a few more pages of notes. She clicked her fingernail against the porcelain of her glass and tapped her foot to a beat in her own mind.

"Thanks, Honey. You're the only one willing sit with me when I'm like this."

"No one else is patient. And I'd expect you to do the same thing for any one of us."

"You know I would."

A wide smile came to her face. "I know. That's what makes you so special."

He returned the gesture.

Her phone suddenly pinged in her purse on the counter and her hand dug around only for a few moments before she fished the device out. Her eyes scanned the bright screen, the light reflecting off of her glasses. "But unfortunately, it's time for me to go! Duty calls!"

"The chemistry club?"

"Missing their president!" she called, "I never _do_ remember when our meetings are!"

He snorted, knowing very well they flashed a reminder on her phone every time one was scheduled – but she had ignored it today to sit there with him and calm his pulsing mind.

Her absence made him realize just how hungry he was as his stomach growls were the only noise to fill the room. Tadashi collected his papers and tromped up the stairs, hoping to tear Hiro away from his computer to help him make dinner.

But the boy was sitting on his bed, fiddling with their toaster.

"What are you doing?" he asked with an 'only-Hiro-would-be-doing-this' chuckle.

"Fixing the toaster."

"How'd it break?"

The nine year old glanced up and grinned. "Me."

"Whatever knucklehead, it's time for dinner." The project was hastily abandoned on the bed as the younger Hamada bounced up and trotted after his older brother.

"Hey Tadashi?"

"Yeah?" he glanced backwards, walnut eyes locking onto matching walnut eyes.

"Honey Lemon was right, you know," he said shyly, lacking the confidence to be outright about his feelings to his brother. "You do a really good job. You never disappoint me."

A sort of weight was brought off of Tadashi's shoulders then as he smiled and sucked in a breath. "Thanks kiddo," but knowing Hiro's hate for serious conversation, that smile turned into a smirk. "I love you too."

"That's not what I said!" He whined before both of them picked up their slowed pace and clattered the rest of the way into the kitchen, arguing the entire way through dinner.

Tadashi wouldn't want it any other way.

* * *

><p>Their eyes locked, and it was hard to tell who was more threatened.<p>

It was Hiro's home. There was someone in his home, lit only by the florescent light that poured out of the refrigerator and out onto the floor. Eyes beamed in the dimness, clearly startled.

Fred was frightened because Tadashi had promised no one was going to be there. He claimed that Aunt Cass was taking Hiro to lunch, a movie, and out shopping and to the teenager, nine o'clock was way too early to be reigning in a day of adventures.

It was only when Hiro changed positions did the brunette realize the kid had a bat.

"Don't shoot!" he blurted, cringing into himself. "I'm a friend of Tadashi's!"

Lights in the kitchen finally flickered to life as Hiro dropped the bat. "Who are you?" he demanded, though he had just heard the kid's explanation.

"Tadashi told me no one would be here. He –" Fred stopped, standing up straight and letting a lopsided grin overtake his face. "Dude, you're Tadashi's brother?"

Hiro's chocolate eyes narrowed in suspicion. Untrusting suspicion.

"What of it?"

"Nothing bro, just thought you'd be taller," he chuckled to himself, a content and calm look overtaking his face.

To his surprise, Hiro laughed. "That's what they all say." He stepped down into the living room. "Why are you here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood, you know?" he shrugged, "Thought I'd pop in!" he jerked his thumb at the wall, "My favorite Japanese buffet is just down the street –"

"Zuisyou?!"

Fred spluttered. "You know the place?"

"Only mine and Tadashi's favorite place!"

He nodded, "You're a good man, little bro – a good man."

"What are you doing raiding our fridge after you were at the buffet?"

Fred frowned, wondering how he was caught so quickly. "They don't let you do take out, and I knew I'd get hungry again. Thought I'd bring back some chow for the geniuses at the lab. Tadashi told me where to find the key – he wanted me to grab some tools from his room."

"I can get them – which ones did he want?"

"I had him write them down…" Fred's face puckered. "I don't really know what any of them are."

The boy raised an eyebrow as he motioned for the brunette to follow him up the stairs. "How did you two meet again?"

"Football!" he cheered. "When Tadashi went out with that awful knee injury, he adopted me into his double sided life."

Hiro frowned. "Knee injury? He told me he didn't want to play anymore."

Fred wasn't stupid. It clicked in his mind almost instantly what the boy was speaking of. Last year, Tadashi went into practice on crutches, just a few weeks into practice. With a sheepish expression, he explained that he'd gotten a little too rowdy with he and his brother's inventions, and the doctors said he probably wouldn't be able to play again. The whole team had groaned, not believing they had just lost one of their best strikers. The coach had said he was proud of Tadashi for taking it so calmly, and the Hamada boy replied with his apologies and regrets. He really did love the game.

The brunette figured that Tadashi never told his brother what the doctors had said – being that great big brother they always knew he was.

"Well I mean, that too."

Hiro didn't think much of it as he dug around on Tadashi's side of the room. Fred blinked, glancing around the large space the two brothers shared. "Sick venue."

"We try to spice it up a little bit," Hiro called, digging under his brother's bed.

He noticed the way that Tadashi had crammed all of his stuff into a tight corner of the room, neatly organized where everything had a place. Hiro's side was more spacious, but filled with clutter and piles of things only the boy-genius knew where they were.

A smile twitched onto his lips as he waited patiently, hands stuffed into his pockets. Seeing their room, being the first of the gang to meet Hiro, and realizing just how much Tadashi had sacrificed to make sure his little brother had a damn good life made the friend glow with pride.

Tadashi never let anyone down, and Fred was witnessing first hand just how much that promise went for his little brother.

He watched as Hiro tried to put things back where he found them, but clearly not having Tadashi's sense of organization and remembrance of order. He stared for a moment at the space, a thoughtful expression on his face with all of the tools scattered on his bed, hoping that it looked well enough to live up to Tadashi's standards.

Fred's grin widened when he realized Hiro never let Tadashi down either.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I hope those were interesting to read! I had fun writing some with a few different characters in them! :D Spring some ideas on me guys, seriously, I'd be happy to get some ideas rolling! You guys probably have better ideas than I do :P**

**Thanks to everyone for the favorites and follows! You all just **_**rock**_**! :D I'm so grateful!**

**-zesty-**


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